5 Outstanding Benefits of Keto Diet

A keto diet is the short for a ketogenic diet which refers to a high-fat, low-carb diet with higher amount of proteins. It aims at getting more calories from fat and protein than from carbs. The basic theory behind this diet is to deplete the body of its sugar stores, so that it will begin breaking down fat and protein for energy leading to ketosis (and thus weight loss).

Here’s why the keto diet is the best diet for optimal health and weight maintenance.

1. Weight Loss

More work is needed to convert fat into energy than needed to convert carbs into energy. Due to this, a ketogenic diet can speed up weight loss. And as the diet is high in proteins, it doesn’t leave the dieter hungry and craved like other diets do.

2. Helps Heart Health

If the keto diet is followed in a healthy way (which believes that avocados offer the healthier fats than pork rinds), evidence shows that the diet can enhance heart health by decreasing cholesterol. One of the studies showed that HDL (good) cholesterol was considerably increased in those taking keto diet and LDL (bad) cholesterol went considerably down.

3. Reduces the Risk of Cancer

A large amount of research has recently been done on keto diet regarding how it can help prevent and even treat some types of cancers. One of these studies found that the keto diet may be a good complementary treatment to radiation and chemotherapy in cancer patients. This is because of the fact that it would lead to more oxidative stress in cancerous cells than in normal cells. Some other studies have suggested that since the keto diet brings high blood sugar down, it could decrease insulin complications, that may be linked to some cancers.

4. Improves Health of PCOS Patients

PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is an endocrine disorder that leads to enlargement in ovaries with cysts. A high-carb diet can deteriorate this condition.

Though there are not many clinical evidences on the effect of keto diet on PCOS, a pilot study involving 5 women found during a period of over 24 weeks that the keto diet:

5. Improves Acne

Causes of acne are various one of which may even be diet and blood sugar. A diet high in refined and processed carbs can bring about alterations in gut bacteria and lead to more significant blood sugar fluctuations, both of which can affect skin health. Hence, be reducing carbohydrate intake, it can be easily understood why a ketogenic diet can improve some types of acne.

All in all, a keto diet has great health benefits and so, you can turn to it. However, don’t forget to discuss this with your doctor to eliminate any risks.